The Old Lyme Area Cable Advisory Council has awarded four $1,000 scholarships to local students:

Hannah Belleville, a Salem resident, is a member of the Class of 2017 from East Lyme High School.

Natalie Rugg from Old Lyme and Olivia Schumacher from Lyme are members of Lyme-Old Lyme High School’s 2017 graduating class.

Allison Marsh, an Old Lyme resident who received a scholarship in 2016 as a graduating senior from Lyme-Old Lyme, has been awarded a scholarship again this year. She is a student at the University of Connecticut.

Since the program’s inception, the Council has awarded scholarships to 19 students.

The Cable Advisory Council initiated its scholarship program in 2010, offering awards to graduating seniors from member towns planning to enter a communications program or a communications related field after high school graduation.

The Old Lyme Area Cable Advisory Council meets quarterly and represents East Haddam, Haddam Neck, Lyme, Old Lyme, and Salem.

Information about the 2018 scholarship program is available in the Guidance Offices at the public high schools in the represented towns: East Lyme High School, Haddam-Killingworth High School, Hale-Ray High School, and Lyme-Old Lyme High School.

Application forms can be downloaded from this page. A fillable application form is also listed above.

Below is a sampling of essays submitted by some of our scholarship awardees:

Olivia M. Schumacher, 2017

Along the Connecticut shoreline, there are many places for tourists to visit. From our beaches to our vineyard’s, and even our casinos to our historic seaport, tourists have a tremendous amount of things to experience. But nothing compares to the historical artistry in Old Lyme that includes the Florence Griswold Museum, the Lyme Art Academy, the Lyme Art Association, and the numerous private galleries on Lyme Street. In 1899, Miss Florence Griswold first opened her doors to a group of artists: Childe Hassam, Henry Ward Ranger, Willard Metcalf and otherswho were known as the Lyme Art Colony (Old Lyme, About Old Lyme). Since that date, hundreds of artists, near and far, come to Old Lyme to witness or add to decades of contributions to American Impressionism. Some of these artists learn techniques and improve their skills at the Lyme Art Academy. Students from all over the world come to follow their dreams of contributing to the art world. The Lyme Art Association opened in
1921 as an exhibition for the Lyme Art Colony artists. This exhibition offers art classes and workshops as well as opportunities to buy the professional artwork there. These artistic treasures are made available to the public daily during the week and weekends as well as during special events. Visitation to galleries and studios are also made available by appointment. If you have a yearning to experience and learn about American Impressionism, Old Lyme is the place to visit.

Old Lyme Area Tourism: A Creative Essay

By: Allison Marsh 2016

Interstate 95. 67 miles per hour. The Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge safely cradles your automobile as you cross the placid Connecticut River. You recognize the “Exit 70” sign. Your eyes reflect the rising sun as you make a slight right, bidding farewell to the highway you have been traveling on for miles. You exhale. You’re here. You blink and inhale the comforting words “Old Lyme, Connecticut” delicately etched in gold leaf, proudly displayed on the navy blue welcome sign—defining the hidden treasure that doubles as the epitome of quintessential New England.

You veer left, then through the intersections of Shore Road, to find yourself on Halls Road, passing the Big Y, where you will inevitably stock up on the sunscreen you forgot and hot dogs you want to grill; passing the Bowerbird, where you will eventually snag some last-minute unique souvenirs to bring back to your parents who “just adore this place;” and passing the Morning Glory Café, on the bank of the Lieutenant River, where you stop for a savory breakfast with a view.

After, you start down historic Lyme Street, which blooms with the artistic creativity from the brush strokes of Lyme Academy of Fine Art’s most-recent graduates. You glance into the past through the houses that haven’t ever changed since their various constructions. The Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe’s homemade frozen delights beckon your name. The First Congregational Church might as well have popped out of a postcard. You pass the Old Lyme Country Club and ponder playing a few holes of golf on its lush turf.

As the sun continues to trek across the sky, you head straight for the beach. Shore Road brings you to its namesake. The sea gulls call as the waves gently lap along the soft sand beneath your feet. The gentle salty breeze caresses your face as the warm sunrays dance across it. You inhale deeply and with your exhale, you feel the weight of the world fall off of your shoulders as it drowns in the Long Island Sound. There is no place where you would rather be.

Old Lyme is a home—or a home away from home—for all. It leaves an impression on every person who passes through. Its unforgettable charm steals hearts and calls them back year after year. It is an unchanging, timeless paradise, nestled where the river meets the ocean—where the soul meets serenity.

The Old Lyme Area Cable Advisory Council is composed of representatives from East Haddam, Haddam Neck, Lyme, Old Lyme, and Salem. Public Access channels (12, 14, and 97) are provided by Comcast Cable in return for its cable franchise in the member towns. CTN airs programs regularly on Channel 97.

Advisory Council meetings occur quarterly and are open to the public. A meeting schedule is filed annually with the Town Clerk.

Old Lyme’s Board of Selectmen meetings air on Channel 14 at 7:30pm on Thursdays.

Training on public access equipment is provided free of charge. Phone Access Coordinator Lynn Perry at the Old Lyme Studio on Halls Road (860 434-0643) for more information.

In 2010, the Council initiated a scholarship program, and scholarships were presented to four Lyme-Old Lyme High School graduates: Sophie Bakoledis, Sarah Briscoe, Megan Devlin, and Sarah Schmidt.

In 2011, scholarships were awarded to three graduating seniors: Dane Paracuelles of Haddam-Killingworth High School, and Sophia G. Harvey and Elissa F. DeBruyn of Lyme-Old Lyme High School.

Awardees in 2012 wereCarli Smith and Daniel Koenigs of Lyme-Old Lyme High School.

In 2013, Lyme High Old Lyme High School seniors Meghan Nosal, Blaise Berglund, and Lindsey Knepshield received scholarships from the Advisory Council. There were no applicants in 2014.

2015 scholarship winners were Olivia Angeli of Lyme-Old Lyme High School, and Austin Gometz of Hale-Ray High School.

Allison Marsh, Lyme-Old Lyme High School, was awarded a scholarship in 2016.

In 2016, the Council approved a pilot grant program for the Lymes' Senior Center, and provided funds for the purchase of video equipment to be used to record Senior Center programs for public access television. In prior years, the Council provided grant funding to the Towns of Old Lyme and Salem, as well as Regional School District 18 for the purchase of equipment to be used in the recodring of meetings for public access.

The Advisory Council also acts as ombudsman for Comcast cable subscribers.

Old Lyme’s Advisory Council members are Russ Gomes and Catherine Frank, appointed by the Board of Selectmen.

There is currently a vacancy for a representative of the Regional School District #18 Board of Education. To reach an Old Lyme representative, phone the Town Hall (434-1605, ext. 210), or e-mail selectmansoffice@oldlyme-ct.gov.